ABSTRACT
Social ties have been described as both assets and liabilities for athletes (1). On the one hand, social support is seen as a resource for athletes dealing with stressors in sport, and seeking social support is associated with positive outcomes for athletes including performance achievement, enhanced relationships with teammates, recovery from injury, protection from burnout, and task-oriented coping during competitions (2). On the other hand, athletes frequently report a range of stressors derived from social interactions or relationships that can lead to negative outcomes or unsuccessful performances. Examples of such stressors include coach and teammate conflicts, criticism from others, concerns about home life and friends, and conflicts with officials (3). The relationship between social support and coping is therefore complex: social interactions may contribute to athletes’ stressor appraisals, however, social support can contribute to positive outcomes and successful performances. Emotions also play an important role in interactions between athletes and teammates, coaches, and other members of the team environment. Athletes’ emotions can be affected by the social environment of the team, and athletes’ emotional displays can impact teammates, coaches, and other members of the social environment (e.g., family members, spectators). Thus, athletes must manage their own emotions and cope with stressors to produce successful performance, yet athletes can also influence (and be influenced by) the emotions and coping of teammates, coaches, and others. By better understanding the dynamics of social support, coping, and emotion, we can advance theory about how athletes interact within the social context of a team and develop interventions to improve individual and team coping and emotion regulation.
